Athletic gloves, and particularly cycling gloves, of various configurations have become popular because they aid in gripping a handlebar of a bicycle, they are durable, they provide cushioning, they protect the hands of the cyclist, and they reduce abrasion to the hands of the cyclist. Many padded cycling gloves are currently available on the market. The following are some examples of padded cycling gloves, all of which are incorporated herein by reference as if set out in full.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,276, titled PADDED ATHLETIC GLOVES, issued Apr. 17, 2001, describes a padded athletic glove wherein pre-formed, air blown, silicon foam pads are stitched on the glove, or are applied to the glove using adhesive. Cycling gloves are mentioned wherein protective padding is provided on the palm and/or fingers of the glove. Athletic gloves are described that protect the palms and/or fingers, that assist in caching a ball or the like, and that enhance the gripping of an object. Pads are described that range from about 0.010 inch to about 0.012 inch thick, having a durometer range of about 45 Shore A to about 55 Shore A, and having a specific gravity of about 1.12 to about 1.16.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,642,titled PROTECTIVE BATTING GLOVE, issued Nov. 23, 1999, describes a batting glove that includes shock-absorbing vinyl nitril pads (about 1/16 to 3/32 inch thick) that are glued to the glove and then covered by a thin layer of leather that is sewn to the glove.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,031,640, titled PAD FOR PREVENTING CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME, issued Jul. 16, 1991, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,751, titled GLOVE FOR PREVENTING CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME, issued Dec. 28, 1999, described gloves with pad placement such that pressure is diverted away from median nerve of the hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,618,860,titled ATHLETIC GLOVES FOR USE WHEN CYCLING AND METHOD OF MAKING, issued Sep. 16, 2003, describes athletic gloves having pads on the palms where the pads are adhered to the palms instead of stitched.
One significant issue with these and other padded gloves is ventilation. Often, perforations are provided in portions of the palm. For various structural reasons, conventionally, the perforations are located in areas of the palm not associated with padding. For example, referring to FIG. 1, a palm side 102 of a conventional cycling glove 100 is shown. Palm side 102 has one or more pads 104, 106, 108, and 110 strategically placed for cushioning. Typically, pads 104, 106, 108, and 110 comprise at least one layer of foam surrounded by leather, synthetic leather, or other durable fabric to resist wear. Palm side 102 optionally has texture 112 to aid in grip. Cycling glove 100 may have finger and thumb extensions 114, which are shown terminating in an opening such that the fingers and thumbs are partially exposed or could be extensions that completely envelop the fingers and thumbs such as conventional gloves. Placed between pads 104, 106, 108, and 110 are a plurality of perforations 116 in palm side 102. Perforations 116 may be between pads as shown or elsewhere on palm side 102. Perforations 116 allow air circulation that aids in ventilation of the wearer's hand. Pads 104, 106, 108, and 110 may be separated by air flow channels 118 to allow air flow over perforations 116 to facilitate ventilation.
As can seen, however, cycling glove 100 lacks perforations and/or ventilation where pads 104, 106, 108, and 110 reside. Often the wearer's hand generates a significant portion of heat at those locations because, in part, there is a lack of air circulation. Thus, it would be desirous to provide a cycling glove that had ventilation paths through pads.